❝ chapter thirty-nine

e r i c ’ s

Yongsun went all out on the wedding’s decorations and the little details. When I told her that she should be in charge of the theme and the decoration because I know this is a woman’s only lifetime opportunity and it had to be perfect the way she loved, I never expected her to create something absolutely stunning as these. The wonder my wife could do with her imaginations. 

She chose the garden and turned it into something so enchanted and breathtaking. I guess she went for the enchanted forest for both the wedding and the after party. 

There is a large artificial lake in the middle of the garden and glass built on top of it then sitting on top of the glass is the aisle in white accompanies by large moss-covered vases of white bouquet; on both sides of the aisle, there are little pink flowers and big blue butterflies amidst the moss covered on each vase. Instead of having the guests’ chairs typically aligned in row, they are assembled in a circular format with the aisle in the center. In between the gaps of one vase to another, lots of white petals are spread all over.

On the walls, they hanged several cylinder-shaped cages made from just a few thin woods and green leaves growing out of it and a wooden bird in each of it. At the end of the aisle, it is filled with white roses on the branches of two huge trees that are pulled toward each other over us. From it, strings of flowers are draping over our heads.

I should have guessed the venue’s decorations from our pre-wedding shoots. We actually shot in an actual forest, Yongsun in her beautiful dress, her hairs curled in her usual waves and she’s running through the beautiful forest and I was running behind her. Some shots, her head are turned to look back at me and she’s laughing wholeheartedly because it was really fun. And some shots, I finally caught her, my hand on her small waist and I pulled her closer to me, our faces are tilted toward each other and a big smile are pasted on our faces. And some shots, I leaned in to kiss her in the middle of the absolutely beautifully decorated forest. It has to be one of the most magical photos of my life. Those photos are now displayed at the entrance of our wedding venues and are used as decorations in small wooden frames on a table on the side of the garden along with several other glasses of candle and drapes of moss. 

God, beautiful is an understatement for all of these.  

Although I have already seen these earlier this morning when we both rehearsed for our walk on the aisle, it still never failed to make me exclaimed in awe. My wife’s amazing. Not to mention, her dress completely matches the atmosphere and it emphasizes her beauty. Gosh, she’s stunning. 

We’re standing in front of the door, hand in hand and our hearts beating out of their ranges. She’s dressed in a beautiful off-shoulder white dress, the front is designed with trails of white laces in the shaped of tree’s vines and branches and her back is designed with transparent silk and has a few tiny tree branches and butterflies on it. From her waist, her dress’s skirt is made from white with a spread of the lightest shade of baby pink organzas and a few rose petals are sewed on the waist. Her hairs are tied into a low ponytail with a few strand loose and curled gently over her face and her vail drape down to her waist, thin and beautiful. It’s also traced with sewing of flowers and butterflies. 

    “You’re stunning.” I said and motion at nothing in the air. “And everything is stunning, you’re amazing.”

    She blushes. “Thank you. Do you like them?” 

    I nod. “I love these, Yongsun. I’ve never been in such a magical place than now, and I’m glad it’s you I’m with.” 

I give her a quick kiss on her lip and she smiles, tightening her hand in mine and sighs happily. She plays with her bouquet and smiles at it lovingly. It means a lot to her, Yonghee made it specially just for her. Her floral major in London really makes a difference. They’re beautiful, small but absolutely beautiful. I feel like I used the word beautiful way too much today but there’s no other words that could describe how beautiful today really is. 

The door finally opens and I take her hand then we both walk down the aisle and face the guests together. Yoo Jaesuk sunbaenim volunteers to host our wedding for us and he insists that he’s not going to get any fees for it because he wants to repays me for whenever I went and helped him out in different shows even though I really didn’t do much. The guests clapped, there are a lot of familiar faces and we both smile and greet them in the process. Almost all of them have their phones up to take pictures and videos, and some are complimenting Yongsun’s dress while some are complimenting how good we look together. Yonghee is crying and so are our parents. 

It feels surreal walking down this beautiful aisle in this beautiful setting holding the hand of the woman who has always stayed by my sides through good and bad. Yoo Jaesuk sunbaenim starts off by complimenting how beautiful the venue is and that he saw almost everyone taking pictures here and there for their SNS and that he was gonna do that too but then he realized he didn’t have anyone or anywhere to show it off too and that he couldn't just brag to his wife about it either because then, he'd be the one getting nagged at. Everyone laughed at that.

He then went on to complimented Yongsun and her dress before he finally proceeds with the ceremony. As a tradition, we had to bow several times. To thank the guests for coming, to thanks both of our parents for all the times and troubles they went through to raised us and to each other. 

    “We’ll now ask the bride and groom to face each other.” We scramble our ways to face each other and we both try to hold our laugh when we catch each other’s eyes. “Please read the vows you’ve beautifully written for each other.” 

    I take a deep breath. “Yongsun-ah.” She giggles at that and I laugh and catch my parents’ eyes who urge me to go on. Okay, okay. “I remembered seeing you during works and thought with my brother that you’re exactly the type of woman I like. Then, somehow fate brought us together for We Got Married and ironic as it be, we were wife and husband then too even though it was just a virtual experience but it gave me the chance to get to know you more and fall in love with the amazing you right then and now.” 

    “I can’t believe I’m standing here about to start a wonderful life with a woman who is also my best friend, my greatest miracle, and the person I love most in this world. In you, I see everything I want to be and you make me know that my dreams are possible. I remembered hesitating whether I should introduced you as my wife or as my friend back then because I wasn’t sure where to start or what we were exactly but after this moment, I’m just overjoyed that I could finally introduce you proudly to the world as my wife, my partner in crime, my best friend, my other half.” 

    I catch her eyes and she smiles at me fondly. “For all the time we’ve been together, thank you so much for keeping up with me, for being so understanding of my work and shortcomings. You’ve been my source of strength and light, and you’ve been the most beautiful companion in my life up until now. I love you not only for what you are, but for what you make me, the best possible man I can be. So, for that, Yongsun, I’d like to ask for your hand to accompany me further in our next journey and I promise to cherish you as you are, to cherish our love as it has always been, to cherish your presence and companion, to catch you if you should stumble, carry you over every threshold and fall in love with you every day, to listen, to hear and to always consider your feelings and thoughts as we travel on this journey and to love and treasure you until my death.”

    “I promise to be the man that I see now in your eyes today, tomorrow and for always. Thank you for marrying me, thank you for taking my hand and agreeing to get through life together. I love you and I vow to do what I can to make your dreams come true.”

By the time I finish and look at her, she’s wiping her tears and in that instance, I couldn’t hear the applauses that are ringing throughout the venue. I reach my hand out to wipe her tears and she smiles at me. Yongsun clears . She swiftly closes her eyes and open them again. I take a quick glance to the side and Yongsun’s members are sitting in the second row behind her family and they’re wiping their tears especially Byul who smiles at me and gives me a thumb up. I smile back and give her a soft nod. 

    “Yoondo oppa,” She said and blushes a little. I grin, she rarely calls me by my real name.

    She looks at me and smiles. “The times I spent with you during We Got Married was the key that brought us together. I regret isolating myself from you when you asked for my hand after the show ended, I regret not giving us a chance because of our works. I admit that I like to overthink things a lot and sometimes, I come up with the worst scenario ever but for that, thank you for keeping up with me and understand me as I am. Thank you for keeping up with me, my three other sisters from different mothers and my own biological sister..” 

    “You allowed me to wander in my own adventures and instead of walking behind me or ahead of me, you walked beside me through all of it so I wouldn’t be alone. You provided the light and important colors my life needed that even I failed to realized it. I know that I’m not perfect and I still have a lot more to learn but I love that you treat me like I am. To the amazing man who has always been there for me through my best and my worst, to the man who silently comforted me in his embrace when I cried, to the man who makes me consider when I want to be rush, to the man who loves me to the fullest and let me know that he does, I vow to make my life forever yours and build my dreams around you.”

    “You are my best friend, my confidant, my most favorite person in the whole world, and my home. Just like you did for me, I promise to be a fire to warm you and an embrace to hold you when you’re exhausted from the world around us. I promise to celebrate you and your achievements and to support you in your times of need. I promise to be your home when you wish to return from the outside challenging world. I love you. Let’s sing together until death do us apart, let’s sing together even when the spotlight isn’t on us and even when our house is our stage.” 

She wipes her tears through all of it and I smile, feeling tears welling in my own eyes. As hard as I tried to hold it in, I end up shedding tears so I hastily wipe them away before anyone catches it but I guess they already did anyway. Another round of loud applauses ring throughout the venue and both of our parents are already crying which catch both of us off guard. I mouth her a thank you and she smiles, nodding her head and mouths the same thing at me back. 

My cousin’s children walk toward us with our rings and they present it to us. One of them is four and the other one is five and their cheeks are still overflowing. The guests coo at how they stroll down the aisle adorably and Yongsun giggles at the sight. We ruffle their hairs and thank them for the rings before we exchange them. There’s a chorus of kiss, kiss, kiss from our friends and I laugh before leaning in and capture her lip.

My wife, my best friend, my miracle, my home. Mine.